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Modi's visit to Germany and France will give him an opportunity to discuss key political issues relating to Ukraine and the Middle-East. India is feeling the indirect impact of the Russian estrangement from Europe as this has led to closer strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing.

The health of adolescents is crucial to achieving India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Government of India has spotlighted adolescent health in various programmes and policies. However, substantial health challenges continue to affect Indian youth. This paper describes the health profile of adolescents in India and, in particular in Uttar Pradesh, one of the country’s least performing states in the domain of health outcomes.

The closing months of the year 2003 saw a change in the language of the discourse emanating from the Pakistani establishment in general and its military dictator Gen.Pervez Musharraf in particular

The general public discourse around such events in Iran usually pendulums between the ill-informed and the critically ill-informed.

Russia's response to new missile defence plans of the US points to Moscow's continued distrust of Washington. However, Moscow and Washington have announced a meeting to discuss the new missile deployment plans in Moscow in late May this year. Perhaps, a breakthrough is still possible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India in December 2025. The outcomes of the annual leaders’ summit will be largely determined by how India untangles the trade spat with the United States.

The two countries’ geopolitical compulsions, especially regarding containing china in the indo-pacific, have translated into closer trade ties

Bashar al-Assad’s ouster and South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's retreat underscore the importance of channelling people power through effective institutional frameworks

India’s stand on terrorism exposes the SCO’s contradictions

With India and Russia having a common interest in Afghanistan’s stability, the ensuing big power competition, which is pushing Moscow into a tight Chinese economic embrace, is increasingly turning out to be a challenge.

Saeed Naqvi, Distinguished Fellow at ORF, recently journeyed across Afghanistan where he met scores of political leaders, Taleban, US officials, filmmakers, journalists, NGOs, religious leaders and ordinary Afghans. The result is an insightful document on Afghanistan at the crossroads. Do Americans have an Endgame planned? Or, more important, can a superpower in a theatre of strategic importance, have a linear exit plan when multiple strategic op

Since the early 2010s, Russia has greatly expanded its cooperation with Pakistan, venturing into new areas and levels of cooperation and engaging in more frequent consultations. The bilateral ties have been growing despite many inherent challenges, including historical animosity during some periods of the Cold War, political and financial fragility in Islamabad, and Russia’s strategic partnership with India. At the same time, some of these issu

The Observer Research Foundation’s first Tech Huddle was held on 23 November 2023 and focused on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in India, highlighting the rapid growth and adoption of AI as well as the complexities associated with developing regulatory frameworks for it. AI governance is in its infancy, both globally and in India, and grapples with issues such as the explainability of AI systems as well as the embedded biases, s

या आठवड्यात नवी दिल्ली येथे झालेली AI Impact Summit 2026 ही केवळ एक राजकीय घटना नाही. ती एक विचारपूर्वक केलेला रणनीतिक बदल दर्शवते. IndiaAI Mission च्या आधारावर उभारलेली ही परिषद जागतिक AI चर्चेल�

New Delhi and Canberra are likely to conclude the much-awaited Mutual Logistics Sharing Pact — as well as other agreements covering science and technology and public administration.

Egypt’s labour market is marked by systemic skills mismatches, geographic inequalities, and rising automation risks. A new AI-powered observatory analyses online job postings to offer a scalable model for data-driven workforce planning in the digital age.

India’s endeavour to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a well-defined and time-bound manner is critical for national and global development. This paper examines India’s data availability to assess the SDGs related to health and nutrition. While India is still facing severe challenges of generating disaggregated information on mortality and cause-specific deaths, the desired data on nutrition and healthcare utilisation are la

Left-wing activism amongst young people in the United States is on the rise, in no small part aided by the internet and social media. The generation which demographic researchers refer to as ‘Gen-Z’—or those born between the mid- to late 1990s to the early 2010s—is becoming more politically engaged. This brief offers an intellectual history of modern-day leftist politics in the US, and argues that it is primarily driven by the pur

This brief assesses the growth of Armenia’s defence deep-tech landscape, and the geopolitical ramifications of its development for India, in particular. Tracing its historical development and current status in light of the current strategic volatility in the South Caucasus, the brief highlights the scope for closer cooperation between Yerevan and New Delhi in the deep-tech domain, shaped by such factors as issue-based convergences, Armenia’s

Several developments over the last few months have made clear that the Army modernisation programme, at least, is turning into a train wreck. This is not to say that all is well with the modernisation of the Air Force and the Navy, but just that the Army modernisation programme stands on far shakier ground, with minimal scope for results.

The AI-climate change link is understudied, not least because the largest companies working in this space are neither transparent nor meaningfully committed to understanding it

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to a fundamental shift in the human-machine interface, with massive implications for the future. AI today has known applications across multiple domains—including agriculture, defence, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and nuclear energy—and the potential appears limitless. Justifiably then, the discourse surrounding AI is becoming increasingly more vibrant. Yet, the inner workings of AI are often shroud

The European Union’s (EU) and India’s paths towards becoming “cyber powers” could hardly be more different. The EU has a long tradition of protecting personal privacy rights and patents, while urging to enhance multilateral norms on cyberspace. India’s thinking on cybersecurity has continuously been boosted by the cyber threats emerging from China and Pakistan. It has further been shaped by India’s domestic Information Technology indu

Rediscovers relations after falling out with China

As geopolitical competition intensifies in Central Asia, India will have to prioritise transparent and reliable connectivity strategies.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, in his five years as the martial law administrator, has never faced challenges of the magnitude he is grappling with now. Internally, Pakistan is faced with a crisis on many fronts. Despite a stable Government for over five years, and scores of promises, there is no sign of democracy.

Fifteen nations in 11 months and important visits to China and RoK in May is a tremendous track record. Considering the pace and scale of Modi's engagements and what each visit is expected to produce, one must congratulate the MEA for measuring up to this scorching pace.

Pakistan is today dangling between hope and despair, propelled largely by President Pervez Musharraf's inability, and refusal, to gauge public sentiments for free and fair elections in the coming months. Discontentment, once confined to media and courtrooms, has spilled out into the streets, creating a stifling atmosphere of anxiety and doubt across the country. Political, economic and social differences have sharpened in the past eight years. Re

Little attention is paid to the dynamics of politico-military strategies and civil military discourse on military capabilities and doctrines for any future conflicts

Since time immemorial, the land that is now Bhutan has been a nation that has limited its interaction with the outside world and discouraged immigrants. This to some extend could be attributed to the nation's tie and linkages with Tibet.

This paper assesses United States (US) presidents Donald J. Trump’s (2017-21) and Joe Biden’s (2021-present) respective records on the India-US technology partnership. During the Trump years, this domain of bilateral cooperation saw the finalisation of foundational agreements, including those on force interoperability, and new precedents on US arms export designations for India. While these agreements pertained mostly to defence technology, t

The unanimous passage of the LBA bill through both houses of Parliament underlines the growing maturity of the political discourse on foreign policy in India. In particular, the larger political parties have shown that building consensus on India's foreign policy can increasingly be a bipartisan affair.

Bangladesh has not only become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia, it has also made significant headway in reducing malnutrition. This success owes, in part, to nutrition-sensitive interventions, including provision of diversified foods, improved sanitation, and women’s empowerment. The country’s strategy of a multi-sector approach that scales up health and nutrition programmes for women, in particular, has shown consistent resu

This paper explores the various opportunities and challenges of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC, a unique inter-regional grouping composed of aspiring member countries from South Asia and Southeast Asia. While the grouping has massive potential to contribute to regional cooperation, this paper explores the capabilities of the organisation in terms of meeting the expectations of renewed

Sino-Indian ties have been going downhill for the last few years. At the BRICS summit, India sought to re-engage Russia more substantively.

Any suggestion of a look west policy compels a comparison with India's much-celebrated Look East policy and presents us with a paradox. India's relationship with the Gulf is much denser than with Southeast Asia. Yet the Gulf does not resonate as much as Southeast Asia in Indian Foreign Policy discourse.

India’s medical devices sector is poised to grow from a US$11-billion industry to US$50 billion by 2030. This expansion, however, hinges on regulatory reform, investment in innovation, and improved accessibility. Historically governed by drugs-centric laws, India’s medical devices sector now falls under the purview of dedicated frameworks such as the Medical Devices Rules (2017). Yet it continues to face policy uncertainty, and there are pers

Recent global events have underscored the importance of economic integration even as they have exposed the fragility of global value chains (GVCs). The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, highlighted the systemic risks to the functioning of GVCs. This brief explores the factors that impact the creation of production networks and recommends key methods to make GVCs more stable and sustainable to withstand potential shocks.

The most critical area for India's response to climate change must be adaptation. It needs to invest in actions against the imminent threats posed by climate change irrespective of how the global discourse progresses. Investments must be made through innovative channels, using a mixture of capacity-building programmes, awareness campaigns, traditional solutions, and new technologies.

In early 2020 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) published an India-centric propaganda material called Voice of Hind. This special report examines the first issue of the publication, which openly recruits Indian Muslims by manipulating the fears and grievances they harbour owing to certain political developments in the country. The analysis uses theories of social psychology, inter-group conflict discourse, and communications theory to pr

Moscow seems to stop halfway when it comes to providing political support for Delhi’s case, steering clear of making any critical remarks towards Islamabad

US’ expected policy shift favouring Moscow aligns with its renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Cash transfers are popular globally as an instrument for combating poverty and achieving broader development goals. Both conditional and unconditional cash transfers that target women in low- and middle-income countries can enhance household well-being, food security, education of children, family health, and women’s empowerment. In India, the provision of unconditional cash transfers to women is being driven by the expanding influence of femal

State of play in India-US relations after the SCO summit

In two sets of visits to the Central Asian region in 2013 and 2014, Xi Jinping set a scorching pace for Modi to follow. Unfortunately for India, even a super-star Prime Minister cannot do the impossible. He lacks the vast investible resources that China has already deployed and is deploying in the region.

The labour laws certainly represent a small step but the introduction of even small reforms in labour legislations was long awaited to keep at bay the rising discontent among domestic as well as foreign entrepreneurs from India's manufacturing sector.

Abstract India is aiming for an eightfold increase in its share of the global space economy by 2047. The Indian ‘sunrise’ commercial space sector is benefiting from the government’s reforms, though gaps remain. The exact size of India’s domestic space economy is unknown, and the export promotion strategy for the space sector is unclear. This brief outlines three recommendations in parallel with the articulation of India’s National Sp

China and Russia both seek closer ties with the Taliban in Kabul, even as they have refrained from fully recognising the regime. This brief explores China’s and Russia’s converging interests in Afghanistan, and argues that their primary concern is a shared existential threat of terrorism from Afghanistan. Beijing and Moscow regard Afghanistan as a potential source of trans-regional instability, and they are adopting a pragmatic approa